How Do I Get There from Here?
by Fairytale Mistress
Summary: This is just a little look at how our favorite couple, Sally and Wufei, came to be. What does it take to get Wufei to ask Sally out? It doesn’t hold true to the anime or manga—pure fiction here!


**How do I Get There from Here?**

Author's Notes: I own NOTHING. This is just a little look at how our favorite couple, Sally and Wufei, came to be. It doesn't hold true to the anime or manga—pure fiction here!

Wufei sighed and smacked his fist against the pilot seat's armrest. He knew he shouldn't have left her. He knew she would be angry—furious, even—when he got back. But he also knew that this mission was too dangerous for a woman. And this time, it didn't matter that that woman was Sally Po.

He'd gotten up early, taken their flight alone, and now he sat in a tiny rig outside an enormous Oz base. He'd been there since dawn. There was no movement other than the change of guard shifts and Wufei suspected that the danger lay in the center of the complex. He knew that he was the best of the Preventers, being a former Gundam Pilot, but the Preventers usually worked in sets of two or three for important missions. This mission was a Class A—one of the utmost importance. And Wufei had gone alone. For any other Preventer, it would have been suicide. Wufei saw his chance, when the guards hunkered themselves down in their little cabins for hot coffee. The fierce winter storm outside kept most of them from paying much attention from Oz suits that passed through their gates. The assumption was that if it was an Oz suit, the person driving was an Oz soldier. Little did they know.

Wufei emerged from his hiding place, maneuvering his suit toward the main gate at a steady pace. He was on the main road when another, unexpected suit fell in beside him. Fearing that he might be noticed, he glanced to the side to see who the pilot was, and nearly fell from his chair at the shocked blonde that stared back at him. 'Stupid onna!' he thought and connected his headset with her frequency. "What are you _doing_ here!?" he demanded angrily.

"Is this not _my_ mission as well?" Sally Po shot back, coldly, taking the lead as they passed through the check point.

"I came alone." Wufei countered curtly.

"So I noticed. You should have known I'd show up to do my job Wufei. This is my assignment as much as it is yours." Sally's voice was clear across the audio feed, and Wufei hated it. Because she was right.

He had no real reason for leaving her behind. At least, in his mind, it was a call of duty, and only men should take Class A missions. But he knew, as soon as they were assigned the job, there was something else pulling him to go alone. Part of him knew he wanted to protect her. He was afraid of that part of himself.

Once they were in the hanger, they crept from their suits, and Wufei did not wait for Sally before rushing off down the hall he suspected lead to the center of the compound. The Preventers Headquarters needed very valuable information from this Oz base, and the information was always kept at the most guarded part of the facility. Wufei took off in the direction he thought would get him to the information the fastest.

He was surprised to hear that Sally didn't object. And when he looked behind him, he saw that she hadn't followed him. He stopped mid-jog and turned absent mindedly to return to her, but caught himself. He could not afford to waste time on this mission. He had a very small window of time before the guards would change shifts again and before breakfast was over. Wufei would have to trust that Sally knew what she was doing.

Wufei crept into the empty file room where the classified documents were kept. There was no sign of Sally, although he was sure that all potential hallways must lead to the area he was in. He began to quickly rifle through layers of paperwork, searching for various operations being conducted, future plans for satellite planets like L2, blueprints for machines and weapons… He had a handful of paperwork that he needed when the alarm sounded and a red light began to flash above his head. Wufei was certain that he hadn't tripped any alarms on the way into the base, so he knew it must have been Sally. He quickly stuffed the information into his jacket, and grabbed the gun he carried at his waist.

He had to find her. He knew what Oz soldiers did to women enemies they found trespassing. 'Injustice' he though angrily. He ducked into an office as a unit of Oz soldiers marched by, they muttered something about an intruder alert in the south entrance. That was on the other side of the base. Why Sally was there, Wufei had no clue. She had purposely gone away from the file room.

Then it hit him. She was the decoy.

"Blast it onna!" Wufei cursed, and darted from the office and around the corner. His pace quickened with every step. "I could have got in without your help!" he muttered under his breath.

Wufei remembered back to when he'd first joined the Preventers, and been partnered with Sally Po. He had cursed his luck for being paired with a woman. At first, they fought nearly every moment of every day—and then, something strange happened a kind of silent peace settled between them. It was this silence that unnerved Wufei. The followed the adage that if one could say nothing nice, they would say nothing at all—so the only time they spoke to one another, was for necessary communication as partners. Wufei did not know how Sally felt about that silence, but he hated it.

More and more he would find himself wishing they would argue just so he could hear her voice. So he could hear her call his name. He liked the way her eyes narrowed when she became angry, or the way she frowned when he didn't agree with her. He came slowly to the realization that he liked Sally Po.

_It happened when they were spending a long weekend at the office to finish up an abnormally large pile of paperwork. When the workday had ended and everyone had gone home, Sally let loose a little. She let her hair down, unbuttoned her blouse a little, took off her shoes. And after several hours of doing nothing but mind numbing paperwork, she began to just spout random bits of humor. Wufei couldn't help but laugh at her. His mind was just as bored as hers was, and he began to see her in a new light. _

_It was that night that he first called her by her name. _**   
**

Wufei raced down corridors, ducking and dodging every guard or OZ officer he passed, even killing a few that he couldn't hide from. He listened carefully for clues about where they took Sally—and he followed the gossip until he reached the prison cells.

He had never seen such a disaster in his life before. Desks were overturned, papers were scattered around all over the place, lights were knocked over or shot out, several guards lay dead against the walls. It was clear that Sally had been here. 'She must have come here to make the Oz soldiers think she was here to rescue someone…' Wufei deduced. "She sure made a mess." He muttered, stepping over the legs of some dead officer.

"Wufei?" The voice was thin, frail, unnatural.

Wufei saw the blonde haired woman immediately and raced to her side. Her face was smeared with blood, whether it was her own or someone else's, Wufei could not tell. "What happened here?" He asked.

"I…was the decoy." Sally said, obviously.

"What happened?" Wufei asked again, clearing the debris around her, to check her injuries.

"I took the guards out. Freed the prisoners…. But, I didn't count on the unit from the hanger coming this way." Sally's eyes were rolling around in her head and they made Wufei feel helpless and panicky. He unzipped her jumper and saw that her clothes were stained crimson from her ribs to her hip on her left side.

"How bad…?" Sally asked, turning her head to the wounded side

"Bad." Wufei whispered. He felt her side until he found the wound, just below the ribcage, she hissed when he applied pressure. "There's something in there." He said, and looked up at Sally's face before gently taking the shrapnel between his thumb and forefinger.

Sally nodded her understanding, and he quickly pulled it out. "It doesn't look deep enough to have caused any real damage." Sally noted, eyeing the piece of metal in Wufei's hand.

"But you're still losing blood. The wound is probably more serious than this piece of shrapnel. I need to get you out of here." Wufei looked around for something to use as a gurney, but could find nothing suitable. Finally cursing his bad luck, he turned back to her, "Can you stand?"

Sally took a moment, and then nodded her head. Wufei helped her to a sitting position, keeping the compress tight on her side, and then pulled her to her feet.

"I'm going to carry you out of here." Wufei said and there could be no debate about it. Sally was in no position to argue, and she only nodded her head again as he scooped her up in his arms.

Feeling the frail body against his own Wufei was reminded of why he hated war. War destroyed all things beautiful. War had tried to destroy Sally Po, but she was strong. And she was fighting. And Wufei could not deny, Sally Po really was truly beautiful. He had for a long time wanted to embrace her, and protect her. He never imagined that he would get his chance when she was clinging to the very edges of her life. It somehow seemed justified to Wufei—because he had never appreciated her before.

The shortest way out of the Oz base was the way they had entered it. Through the hanger. Wufei took the path that he supposed Sally herself had entered through, and found it empty of live opposition.

In the hanger, there were several militants ready to attack him, but Wufei was prepared for them as well. Ducking behind a barricade erected for the Oz soldier's protection, he set Sally down gently, and then pulled a grenade from his jacket. Pulling the pin and tossing the green orb over the wall he watched as the soldiers scattered. Some made it; many didn't. taking Sally in his arms again, he sat her next to him in an Oz forces truck, and revved the engine. Wufei barreled over everything that got in his way in his hurry to find a hospital and to save his partner's life.

**Three weeks later**

Sally sat alone in her hospital room, sipping a cup of tea when a knock sounded at the door. She'd been visited by Zechs and Noin, by Lady Une and by Quatre and Trowa… Even Duo and Heero had shown up to wish her well. So when Wufei stepped into the room, she looked on him with guilt and fear at his pending reproach.

"Hello Sally." Wufei greeted her curtly.

Sally choked and shook her head in disbelief. Wufei almost never used her real name. Why was he not yelling at her for her foolishness on their last mission? Why was he not calling her hard-headed and reckless? Why was he not declaring that women should never be sent on such dangerous missions and she was the perfect reason why? "Hello Wufei." Sally managed over he scalded throat.

"I see you're feeling better." Wufei stated. Sally noticed his fidgeting, and was immediately aware that he was uncomfortable.

"Yes. Thank you." She said. She wanted to ask him what was the matter, but she did not dare incur the wrath of Wufei before it was due.

Wufei nodded his head and pulled a chair up beside Sally's bed. He rested his forearms on his knees and stared at his clasped fists for a long time before speaking. "I was really afraid you might not make it." He said, finally.

The confession caught Sally by surprise. Was Wufei worried for her? "But I did. Thanks to you." She said, a smile on her face.

"Sally."

There was her name again. So wonderful coming from off his lips. Sally loved the way he looked when she managed to catch him without his wall around him. She loved to see the real Wufei. Because she loved the real Wufei.

"Wufei…"

"I thought I…might lose…you." He said. His fists were clenching and unclenching. He wasn't looking at her.

"But you didn't." Sally tried to reassure him.

"Would you just let me….let me _finish _woman!"Wufei said suddenly looking Sally dead in the eyes.

Sally's mouth opened and then closed, her eyes bulging.

"You nearly…._died_, Sally!" Wufei almost yelled, "And I… I couldn't protect you…"

Sally thought of a million excuses, but none of them would have been the right thing to say to Wufei. So, Sally just remained quiet. Wufei's hand had come to rest on the bed beside Sally, and she silently put her hand atop his.

Wufei's face softened. He was never a man of so many words, and it was difficult to express how he felt. He never exactly told Sally that he cared for her, but, he knew that Sally got his meaning.

"I know, Wufei." Sally smiled, interlacing her fingers with his.

Wufei touched Sally's hair, briefly, and then stepped away from the bed. "I did the work for you." He nodded at her smile, and left her alone again.

On the way home, Wufei chided himself for not coming clean about his feelings. 'Why couldn't I just _say_ it?' he cursed at himself. He drove past his house and back to the office. Slamming the door to the tiny room shut behind him he sat behind his computer and began to brood. By the end of the week Sally would be back in the office with him. He didn't know whether or not to be happy or worried.

What happened between Wufei and Sally stayed with Wufei no matter how long or hard he tried to ignore it. He wanted there to be some sort of resolution—he knew what he wanted…but was he man enough to ask for it?

**Four days later**

Sally was greeted by a loud round of cheers as she hobbled through the office doors on Friday afternoon. She did notice that among the faces that greeted her, Wufei was mysteriously absent. When she finally made it back to her and Wufei's office, she found him furiously typing away on his computer. The clicking of the keyboard stopped short when she latched the door closed behind her.

"Hell Wufei." She said, casually.

"Sally." Wufei nodded, his eyes dark and round.

"I hope you've left me some work to do—I'm anxious to get back to the grind!" she laughed a little, and made her way to her desk across from him.

Wufei didn't respond, only tried to focus on the screen in front of him, but it no longer mattered what he had been typing.

"Go out with me tonight." He said so suddenly it startled them both.

Sally just sat and stared at him for a moment. 'Did Wufei just ask me out on a date?' So shocked was she that she couldn't find her voice to answer him.

"Sally. Go out with me tonight." Wufei was looking at her, pleading in his own way with her, for what could only be described as a date.

"…I'd love to…" Sally said, finally.

And that's what it took for Wufei and Sally to become a couple.


End file.
